Fabolous, Q-Tip Question Lack of Airtime for Hip-Hop Categories at Grammys

Hip-hop made a dent at last night's Grammy Awards with Jay-Z picking up the trophies for Best Rap Song ('Run This Town') and Best Rap Performance ('Death of Auto-Tune'), and Eminem winning for Best Rap Performance By a Duo ( 'Crack a Bottle') and Best Rap Album ('Relapse.') But Fabolous and Q-Tip still had a bone to pick with Grammy organizers. Both rappers were nominated for awards, and although neither were fortunate enough to take home a Grammy, they were more upset about the lack or air time the hip-hop categories were allotted during the show. Loso and Tip tweeted live during the award show, questioning the decision to award hip-hop honors off the air.

"At the Grammys ... Thanx 2 everyone who supported me & Loso's Way. Wish me luck 2 bring home this grammy 2nite!!" Fab wrote before the awards were announced. He then followed up with another Tweet, questioning the programming. "Why don't the hip-hop/rap categories get televised?? We are a big part of music 2day, even in mainstream America." he wrote.

Q-Tip, who was nominated for Best Rap Album with 'Renaissance' wasn't too torn up about his loss, but he was noticeably annoyed by the Grammy scheduling. "Its all good yall. We knew that wld happen. I'm coming back stronger!!!" he wrote." He then followed up with a series of posts, expressing his despair at the decision to distribute hip-hop awards off the air. "Y were none of the hip-hop categories on t.v. for grammys?" Tip wrote."Wow! Comedy category gets airtime but NO F---ing love for Hip Hop. This is some bulls---."

There has been a long history of tension between the hip-hop community and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which presents the Grammys. Despite the flourishing hip-hop scene in the late '70s and early '80s, the Grammy Awards only introduced the category for Best Rap Performance in 1989. Ten years after the NARAS finally acknowledged the hip-hop genre, Lauryn Hill became the first hip-hop artist to win the Album of the Year award with 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,' in 1999.